What to check when looking at a zero turn?

[Jpcjguy]

Hi all,

So I am looking at getting a zero turn mower. Have my eye on a 2010 Ferris 61" IS1500ZX with the Vanguard.
Question is - what on earth do I look at when I go to look at it? I have never even driven one of these! :laughing:
I have another thread going about what brands etc. but this is more focused on what to check on zero turns in general - no matter what brand.
What are some of the basic things to check, look at, test, etc. There are risks no matter what when buying used, but if I can protect myself from some of the obvious issues that would be nice.

Thanks!
Joe

 

[waycoolmarine]

check hydro strength do that by driving up to stationary object wall or truck and edge zero turn till it meets and push handles forward should spin tires at equal amount of pressure , you want a zero turn with 2 pumps one for each drive wheel which the ferris has the vanguard is a briggs motor not to start the war not top choice on commercial zero turns { #3} also check the deck spindles look under the deck and see if all blades line up evenly and have no movement the spindles are not crazy expensive but not cheep, and check the belts again not cheap look for leaks motor and hydro, if its to clean be weary I sell about 70 used zero turns a year and we don't detail most like to check for leaks but if we have to work on we pressure wash, also look at hydro filter most never get changed see if it has hours on it

 

[Jpcjguy]

Thanks for the advice

 

[Dizno]

Hi all,

So I am looking at getting a zero turn mower. Have my eye on a 2010 Ferris 61" IS1500ZX with the Vanguard.
Question is - what on earth do I look at when I go to look at it? I have never even driven one of these! :laughing:
I have another thread going about what brands etc. but this is more focused on what to check on zero turns in general - no matter what brand.
What are some of the basic things to check, look at, test, etc. There are risks no matter what when buying used, but if I can protect myself from some of the obvious issues that would be nice.

Thanks!rand that has done a lot of work in the pas
Joe

Can you tell us the application? How many acres and do you need to cut for a distance on a side hill?

I have studied this a lot and would recommend you look at John Deere. They have three lines of machines - the B, M, and Rs.

The older series 900As were also awesome.

-what gauge of steel do they have in their decks
-is there a weldment at the bottom of the deck to protect the bottom lip
- are the deck wheels double captured - steel on the inside and outside of the deck
-are the wheel motors ported - oil flow back and forth from wheel to wheel to make sure is equally hot or the mower will dive on a side hill is you drive on side hills
-mulch on demand is a really cool feature - check out John Deere on this feature - it is COOL!
-Kawasaki engines are really good - best there is
-are the front wheels semi pneumatic? Pneumatic tires are problems

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Why would pneumatic tires be a problem Dizno? Wouldn't they ride nicer?

 

[Dizno]

Why would pneumatic tires be a problem Dizno? Wouldn't they ride nicer?

Yes they do ride nicer. The problem is, likely because they are small, they often go flat in that rugged application. John Deere, for example, put semi on them to prevent flats and counterbalance the machine with a cast bumper on the back to ensure weight distribution is still ideal.

I forgot to mention, clearance is also very important. I have seen people struggle putting equipment on and off trailers and to have a ztrak that stands a little taller on its feet is a good thing.

 

[Texasmark]

I am late in the ZT game. Bought one for the wife in '05 and never used it. She liked to mow the lawn to get out of the house and wanted her own "outdoor toys". I hated for here to do that as the neighbors would pass by and see her mowing thinking that I was too lazy and she HAD to do it. Ha!

She passed on and it just sat around for awhile. I decided to use it and it took awhile to get used to it. Initially everything was working too fast for me, especially at WOT. I finally got used to it and love it. Use it for my "Gator" as it has the open front deck and I can load up stuff there and go to a job or haul stuff from the house to the shop or vice versa.

For doing a plush lawn most are fine. But I do a lot of cutting out back and a ZT is perfect for along the fence rows and around the pond. I have 2 now, a 44" Hustler and a 52" DR and I put mud lugs on both only to put turf tires back on the Hustler as I use it for the yard mowing and as you would suspect, the lugs eat up the turf on zero turns.

My biggest problem with SOME ZT's is operator comfort especially for farm work where you have cracks in the turf and cattle hoof holes. I think the Ferris works that problem. The Hustler had moving front axles available that I bought last year ($200) that really didn't do all that much. I even bought a set and modified them for the DR. Springs in the things were too stiff. I even added weight to the front which helped some on the Hustler.

I bought a spring suspension seat (another $200) for the DR initially, but it put me too high and with the movable control arm (which allowed one to ride or walk behind) it put you right up against the arm. Removed it and put it on the Hustler. Works pretty good on the low tension position even though I weigh 250.

Neither ZT had springs for the seat. Some ZTs do. With the Hustler problem solved, I built a bracket under the seat of the DR and mounted a couple of springs I removed from an old conventional mower and they helped but not all that much. Then an air inflatable removable cushion that 18 wheelers use (another $100). That helped. Then I just recently found a motorcycle company that makes an air bag for a motorcycle seat that replaces a spring. No increase in height of the seat. I bought a couple of those to replace the springs I added to the DR. I made a common yoke to fill both simultaneously and put an air gauge in the line.

This latest addition works real good and I can watch the changing pressure on the system as I drive along the rugged terrain. Neat to realize that that changing pressure used to be on my spine and now the air bag absorbs it. Doesn't take much pressure, like about 5# then as you drive along the pressure varies up to max of 20 I saw on a bad hole.

So, in short, for me operator comfort is #1 and again I think Ferris has that pretty well covered.

Engines are not a problem for me. I have 5 lawn mowers (3 conventional...each has a story) and run Kohler, Briggs upper cut (22 v twin), and Honda. HP runs from 15 to 22. Honda (18 v twin) is the easiest to start and smoothest running. Don't know about the Yammie but there are a lot of them out there. Kohler has let me down in this service. Have a 15, 17 1/2 and 20.

My 2c,
Mark

 

[arlen4720]

Can you tell us the application? How many acres and do you need to cut for a distance on a side hill?

I have studied this a lot and would recommend you look at John Deere. They have three lines of machines - the B, M, and Rs.

The older series 900As were also awesome.

-what gauge of steel do they have in their decks
-is there a weldment at the bottom of the deck to protect the bottom lip
- are the deck wheels double captured - steel on the inside and outside of the deck
-are the wheel motors ported - oil flow back and forth from wheel to wheel to make sure is equally hot or the mower will dive on a side hill is you drive on side hills
-mulch on demand is a really cool feature - check out John Deere on this feature - it is COOL!
-Kawasaki engines are really good - best there is
-are the front wheels semi pneumatic? Pneumatic tires are problems

You forgot about the JD 997. It's not part of the 900 series per say. 31 Hp diesel, built like a tank, very reasonably priced, in a class all it's own.

 

[Dizno]

You are good - it definitely is the shining gem of the ztrak world. Please forgive me for not mentioning this machine.

It is absolutely an incredible machine. Last year on the 60 inch deck it also had the option of a Mulch On Demand aka (MOD).

 

[Arc weld]

JD makes some good machines but there are other good machines too. Someone with a fleet of JD machines isn't likely to recommend another brand. Talk to the shops/mechanics that work on them and see which ones have the least amount of problems. The zero turn market is very competitive which is good. It forces everyone to up their game as far as features and reliability.